Haircut
by lumberofthebeast
Summary: Marisa is up a tree without a ladder.


…_Well. This is embarrassing._

Marisa tried to wiggle and squirm her way out of the strings binding her in place for a few moments, before abandoning the attempt. There wasn't an inch of give to be found anywhere, and even if she did manage to get out all that was waiting for her was a twenty-foot drop, assuming she didn't hit her head on a branch or three on the way down.

Nothing to do, then, but look up at the ground above her, where her captor had gently landed. Said captor was surrounded by a pack of tiny dolls, each one holding onto one of the strings which were holding Marisa upside down from a tree.

"…Well, Alice, looks like you win this time, da ze."

Marisa gave a cheerful grin to the puppeteer below her, and Alice gave a small smile back in response. Marisa could see where her broom had hit the ground, near the trunk of the tree she found herself trapped in. Her hat had come to rest nearby, fluttering down from her head when she got tangled up. A gentle breeze sent Marisa swaying; her hair didn't flutter about as it should have, though. Apparently, even that was being held as still as possible.

"Now let me down."

Marisa then shrieked in panic as she dropped down a foot, before bouncing as she suddenly ran out of slack, the strings squeezing uncomfortably as they were pulled tight again. "…That wasn't funny!"

Alice's smile only grew. "What's the matter, Marisa? Why so…" Alice paused, the smile widening a little more.

_Oh, no, she's going to make a terrible pun, I just know it…_

"…high-strung?"

_UGH._

"Yeah, yeah, now will you please let me down a bit more carefully? All the blood's rushing to my head, da ze!"

"Hmm… no."

"Why not?" Marisa could hear a bit of exasperation slipping into her voice.

"Because I haven't claimed my prize for defeating you yet."

Alice made a quick gesture, and two of the dolls took to the air, zipping off in opposite directions. Marisa felt the strings binding her hair in place tighten. There was a noise like paper being very quietly torn. And Marisa saw her long, golden hair drift slowly towards the ground, before those two dolls came back and caught the mass, quickly gathering up the loose strands.

"…M-my hair! Why did you cut off my hair?!"

"Relax, I didn't cut it all off. I just wanted to know what you'd look like with shorter hair." As the hair-holding dolls brought Alice her prize, the other dolls carefully flew up, and Marisa was gently lowered down to the ground. Then she found herself in the center of a mass of dolls, who were pulling strings loose and cutting them away, and smoothing out the dress underneath. Marisa was helped up to her feet, and a few dolls held up mirrors, angled so Marisa could get a good look at Alice's handiwork.

_Huh. Looks… clean. Neat. …Not bad._

She admired herself for a moment, surprised at how well the abrupt haircut turned out, before her hat and broom were brought over by the two dolls that had grabbed her hair, and Alice herself wandered over for a closer look.

The puppeteer looked thoughtful for a moment, and opened her mouth to comment. Before she could say anything, though, Marisa stepped forward, grabbed hold of Alice's head, and pulled Alice into a kiss, quickly pushing her tongue into the mouth Alice had so invitingly left open for her. Every single doll suddenly fell to the ground, completely limp now that their mistress wasn't controlling them.

After a few seconds that felt like a few months, Marisa pulled away, smiling at her now brightly-blushing, wide-eyed and slackjawed friend. "You're lucky I like you, Alice, or I might have had to get mad at you about the haircut."

Alice stared a moment longer, still in shock, before giving Marisa a quick glare and turning sharply away with a "hmph", to walk back in the direction of her home. The dolls all turned to follow, the hat and broom now lying forgotten on the ground.

Marisa laughed a little to herself. "Hey, I'll be coming by later tonight, so make some extra tea, all right?"

"I didn't invite you over."

"That's never stopped me before."

"…I'll be sure to conceal my valuables, then." And the pair parted, for the time being.


End file.
